Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 1, 2005 A light rail station in the Fruitdale neighborhood of San Jose, California, made its official debut. This station, which was built near the intersection of Fruitdale Avenue and Southwest Expressway, is a link in the Santa Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail system serving that region of the Golden State. Fruitdale station... Continue Reading →
September 12, 1998 In the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon, a light rail station in the Quatama area of the city of Hillsboro was officially opened. Originally known as Quatama/NW 205th Avenue Station, this facility is part of the regional light rail system known as the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX). This station is the eighth... Continue Reading →
September 9, 2011 An automated people mover (APM) at Miami International Airport (MIA) was formally opened with considerable fanfare. This transit system, which is called the MIA Mover, was built to quickly transport people between the airport’s central terminal; and Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), a major hub for commuter rail, rapid transit, bus, and rental... Continue Reading →
September 4, 2023 Operations began for the rapid transit component of a rail system in Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. The first portion of Lagos Rail Mass Transit to go into service was an 8.1-mile (13-kilometer) segment of the system’s Blue Line in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and one-time capital. (Lagos State was named for... Continue Reading →
August 27, 2018 Regular operations began for a light rail station in the German city of Köln (Cologne). This station was built as a link within the Cologne Stadtbahn, an extensive transit system serving Cologne and several surrounding cities. The station is located in Görlinger-Zentrum (Center), part of Cologne’s district of Bocklemünd. Görlinger-Zentrum contains a... Continue Reading →
August 26, 2006 Forsyth station, part of the St. Louis MetroLink system, first went into service. This station, which was one of six on that light rail station to be opened on the same day, is located underneath the intersection of Forest Park Parkway and Forsyth Boulevard in the St. Louis suburb of University City.... Continue Reading →
August 15, 1896 Operations began for a tram line in the town (now city) of Douglas on the Isle of Man, a British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea. (Douglas has been the capital of the Isle of Man since 1869.) The tram line in Douglas was among the first cable-powered systems of its kind... Continue Reading →
August 6, 1927 In downtown Toronto, the present-day version of the major railway station known as Union Station was formally opened. The original Union Station had been built in that part of Toronto in 1858 and was torn down in 1871. Its successor was a larger building that opened there two years later and remained... Continue Reading →
August 5, 2010 A major bus station in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, first went into service. Those taking part in the inauguration of this station included Hau Lung-pin (born in 1952), who was mayor of Taipei from 2006 to 2014. The Taipei City Hall Bus Station is located in a mixed-use skyscraper complex... Continue Reading →
August 4, 1911 Operations began for a tram system in the city of Launceston in Australia’s state of Tasmania. “The three tram cars in commission commenced to earn something towards their upkeep today,” reported the Tasmania-based North West Post. “It is estimated that between 3000 and 4000 passengers were carried.” A dozen days later, the... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 